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Chapter 3, Harvey

"We've been married for seven years..." -Donna Paulson

"Hey, Donna, I need you to call Mike and tell him to give me a call as soon as he's done," I said, intending on giving her no reason or explanation. But, in the back of my mind, I knew that wouldn't be enough.

"I thought he was with you for Charlie's court hearing."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and anticipating the rant that was about to come from my red-headed assistant. "He isn't."

There was a pause followed by a short, "What?"

I sighed again, knowing that tone was sure to follow with her calling Mike and lecturing him. "He ran into Charlie with his bike, and I made him go to the hospital with her."

"He did what?"

"He rode that God awful bike to the courthouse."

There was a sigh on the other line; the rant was becoming inevitable. "And you made him go with her to the hospital?"

"It was his fault."

"So?"

"So."

"You're her father now, Harvey. You should have gone with her."

"We still had a court date."

There was another sigh. Two sighs was promising a rant. "Harvey, not everything is about court dates! You should have gone with her, called me, and gone with her! Are you that thick, Harvey?"

"Donna..." I started as I looked to my shoes, hating the rant that throbbed in my ear about fatherhood from her.

"Don't 'Donna' me, Specter." Ouch, she brought out the last name. She was really mad. "I would have moved the court date, made a deal, something, but no. If you think that a court date is more important than your daughter, then I think we need to reevaluate a few things in your life."

"I sent her with Mike."

"You should have gone with her."

"It was his mess."

"Your mess too. Her mess is yours now."

I sighed. "She's seventeen."

"And think about what Robin did for seventeen years, Harvey."

I inwardly flinched. Robin. She dealt with this for seventeen years. God, that woman really was a saint if she had to deal with thing like this.

"Go to the hospital after your PRECIOUS court case. She is your daughter. You have to take responsibility for her AND her messes."

"You sound like a mother."

"You should sound the same but you don't."

I sighed again as I waited for my turn, pacing. "Donna."

"Just go into the hearing, Harvey. I heard them just call your name."

"Alright," I said with a sigh mixed in.

---

After making it official with making Charlie my responsibility, I walked out of the courthouse, calling Mike with a sigh, knowing Donna would have my ass if I showed up at the office without her or an explanation. It rang twice before I heard a whispered voice at the end of the line.

"Hello?"

"How are the tests?"

"She's in one right now."

"Why are you whispering?"

"We're in the ER, Harvey, I am not exactly in an area where shouting is allowed."

"Any news?"

"Possible minor concussion and a missing phone with music on it."

I sighed. That God damn phone; I was beginning to hate it. "It's probably shattered."

There was a pause. I knew he was flinching. "I figured as much. How was court?"

"Just fine. Went off without a hitch, unlike this morning."

"Harvey, I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Mike. You screwed up. You're paying the consequences. If she needs to be home and quiet, guess who is doing it with twice the work than usual?"

Mike sighed, guessing right silently. There was a slight pause with the sound of voices in the background. I tapped my foot impatiently, hearing Mike talk to someone in the ER room. "I'm talking to Harvey, want to talk to him? No? Okay. I'll be back, okay?" There was a second before Mike got back on the phone with me. "Hey, I'm back, Harvey."

"I know. Heard the whole conversation."

"Charlie came back from her test. What was I supposed to tell her; I was talking to my girlfriend?"

"If we were in a relationship, YOU would be the girl."

"I would not."

"You would, don't even try to argue that, Mike."

There was a sigh on the other line. "I take it you're coming over?"

"No, Mike, I figured about going to lunch and finding a girl to bed before checking on my daughter. You know, good parenting and shit," I said with sarcasm just dripping from every word.

"How long before you're here?" Mike asked with a sigh.

"Give me forty-five minutes," I said as I looked down the street the courthouse was on. "Traffic is a mess this time of day."

"Alright, see you when you get here," Mike said before he hung up.

I sighed and hung up, getting into my town car with Ray in the driver's seat. I looked to him, already exhausted of this fatherhood thing.

"Harvey, I picked this up for you. I think it was Charlie's," Ray said after I let out a few more sighs. He held Charlie's smashed phone up for me to see.

I nodded and took it from him. "Thank you, Ray."

"You're welcome, sir."